PokerStars EPT Madrid Main Event underway

One of the hottest destinations on the PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) over the years has been Spain, but with Spain still feeling the hard-hitting effects of the 2008 global recession the Spanish City of Madrid (where the current EPT Main Event is being held) has lost some of its appeal to travelers. Making matters worse for the EPT is the still lingering effects of Black Friday, which have made their presence felt on tournaments from the Bahamas, to Australia, to Europe.

Last year this same tournament received the honor of hosting the EPT Grand Final, but after the one-year interlude in Madrid the EPT made the decision to move the Grand Final back to its home in Monte Carlo.

All of this might explain the disappointing turnout for Day 1a of the EPT Madrid Main Event on Monday, where just 125 players registered for the €5,300 buy-in tournament. Historically Day 1b has always been the better attended starting day, but even with a huge run on the Casino Gran Madrid it’s unlikely the tournament will come anywhere near last year’s 686 entrants (although as I pointed out this was the Grand Final a year ago), or the 811 or 758 entrants the EPT Barcelona has put up over the past two years.

Of the 125 entrants on Day 1a, just 67 managed to survive the night, Sergei Baranov leading the way with 152,500 chips. Baranov is closely trailed by Anton Ionel who is sitting on a chip-stack of 142,500 and Efren Garcia Louzao who has 130,100 chips. In addition to Ionel, the only other well-known player to finish in the Top 10 was Martins Adeniya who finished the day with 95,000 chips.

Here is a look at the Top 10 chip counts from Day 1a of the EPT Madrid Main Event:

* Sergiy Baranov — 152,500

* Anton Ionel — 142,500

* Efren Garcia Louzao — 130,100

* Andries Swart — 119,800

* Alexander Petersen — 113,500

* Javier Etayo — 112,000

* Dobromir Nikov — 101,900

* Martins Adeniya — 95,000

* Anton Kraous — 94,900

* Ziv Caspi — 94,400

Other notable names that survived Day 1a included Lock Poker Pro Chris Moorman, former November Niner James Akenhead, Hendon Mobber Barny Boatman, and a few Team PokerStars Pros: Toni Judet, Henrique Pinho, Alex Kravchenko, and Arnaud Mattern.

Some of the players that hit the rail on Day 1a were Martin Staszko, JP Kelly, Eoghan O’Dea, Pierre Neuville, James Dempsey, Richard Lyndacker, Juha Helppi, Roberto Romanello, and Marcin Horecki.

Day 1a players now haved a day off to go enjoy the sights and sounds of Madrid while Day 1b will get under way at Noon local time from the Casino Gran Madrid. On Wednesday the two starting fields will be combined for Day 2 of the Season 8 EPT Madrid Main Event.